He Sent Every Dollar, So Why Was My Daughter Starving? novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: The Witness

The judge let Tanya take the oath.

Lowell's lawyer objected twice and was overruled twice.

Tanya sat in the witness chair with her hands pressed together in her lap.

Our lawyer rose and walked to the rail.

"Ms. Birch. You signed an affidavit last week. Is it true?"

"Some of it."

"Which part?"

Tanya's eyes found me.

"Emmeline never asked me to close that account," she said. "I did it myself."

The courtroom went still.

"Take your time," the judge said.

"She was at the hospital with Maisy. She was so tired she signed anything I put in front of her."

"You put the closing form in front of her."

"Yes."

"And witnessed it."

"Yes."

Our lawyer let that sit.

"And the letters in the shoebox?"

"I opened them." Tanya's voice cracked. "I wrote 'not yet' on them. I thought if Kurt's letters stopped coming she'd quit waiting for him."

"Quit waiting for him," our lawyer repeated. "So that someone else could have him."

Tanya put her hand over her mouth.

"I've loved Kurt since the ninth grade," she said through her fingers. "I couldn't stand it."

A woman in the third row said, "Lord."

Kurt did not move at all.

"Ms. Birch," the judge said. "Look at the court, not at the Gleasons."

Tanya lowered her hand.

"Where did the money go?" our lawyer asked.

"Every first of the month, Kurt's pay hit an account I opened in Emmeline's name. Every Friday I moved it to Bissell Holdings."

"Who told you to?"

"Lowell."

Lowell's lawyer was on his feet.

"Objection. The witness is a confessed thief with every reason to lie."

"Sit down, counsel," the judge said. "Let her finish. She is saying things that hurt her."

Tanya turned to look at Lowell for the first time since she sat down.

"He came to my house in the spring, fourteen months ago," she said. "He said he'd learned Maisy was his. He said Emmeline would never give her up to him, but if she were hungry enough, she'd marry anybody who fed her."

← Chapter 15 · All chapters · Chapter 17 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend